Just as an enforced reduction in activities outside the home is a great opportunity to read, it’s also an excellent chance to start, continue, or finish a writing project you’ve been meaning to tackle. Yes, I know now that you have time to write, perversely, the ideas won’t come or you don’t feel like it, but I have great news: you’re not waiting for the Muse; rather, the Muse is waiting for you.
When you sit down to write or walk up to your standing desk, as I do, and consider your writing project, you can welcome the Muse. Steven Pressfield, in his classic The War of Art, even provides the incantation-like message he recites before each writing session to make sure his personal Muse feels welcomed and encouraged to inspire him. Do whatever works for you but get down to it. You’re not going to be closed off from worldly distractions forever, and—if you don’t make some progress now—you’re going to regret not seizing the moment before life returns to normal and distractions give you umpteen attractive excuses not to write.
In that same book, Pressfield addresses the subject of resistance: how and why we get in our own way to prevent ourselves from making the art we tell everyone we feel inspired and compelled to make. He offers numerous remedies, but they all boil down to recognizing the enemy—it is ourselves. Nobody is more effective at preventing us creating something worthy than we are.
Hopefully, the social distancing, closed public spaces, and postponed events will be over in a few weeks rather than a month or more, so you really don’t have much time to dig in and write before life intrudes again. So, rather than a marathon writing period such as NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), this will be a sprint (with luck and wise public health policies), where you’ll have a few weeks to demonstrate your love of language, story, and creation.
Once quarantines are lifted and the pandemic subsides, you’ll be inundated with invitations and opportunities to leave home and give in to the pent-up demand for socializing and experiencing activities with the masses. While you’re captivated in the public swirl, it’ll be a shame if you think back to the quiet weeks you had at home where, instead of getting at that writing project you’ve meant to start, continue, or complete, you binge-watched umpteen TV shows and movies or, yes, opted always for reading instead of writing. Reading is a grand way to spend your time, of course, but writers don’t just read—they also write.
In my blog for readers this month, I mention the famous episode of The Twilight Zone titled “Time Enough at Last” with Burgess Meredith, who wants only to read his beloved books but is surrounded by people who prevent him from doing so. When he finally gets the chance, he’s thwarted. Don’t let that be you with your writing. You have a grand opportunity now—be sure to take advantage of it.